San Francisco, CA
San Francisco restaurant owner goes on 30-day hunger strike over new bike lane
A San Francisco restaurant owner is undergoing a 30-day hunger strike to protest a new bike lane he says is destroying businesses.
While the decision may seem extreme, 41-year-old Eiad Eltawil said he felt it was necessary after the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency refused to address the Mission District neighborhood’s complaints about a 12-month trial bike lane. After 11 days of sleeping outside and not eating, he Eltawil says he’s lost about 15 pounds.
“Yesterday was an extremely tough day, my stomach really, just in extreme pain,”Eltawil told USA TODAY on Thursday. “Before that I was doing OK. But I’m willing to do it. I really want people to know all my suffering I’m going through.”
Eltawil said he isn’t just his fighting for his family, which owns the Yasmin Mediterranean restaurant and the Rossi Mission SF artwork store, but several others he says are being hurt by the bike lane. He also intends to pursue legal action against the city.
Bike lane cuts 70 parking spaces
Since launching in August, the bike lane has created a parking deficit on Valencia Street by removing 70 spaces, according to attorney Jim Quadra, who is representing Eltawil. The implementation has also shortened the amount of time drivers can use the remaining spots, some of which have a five-minute time limit.
At least 10 businesses on the street have closed and Quadra said he expects that number to rise to 15 before the trial period ends. The lane has also eliminated all left turns on Valencia, creating more traffic congestion.
“If you’re going to come all the way to a neighborhood like Valencia, if you don’t have parking, it’s impossible,” Eltawil said. “Five minutes is not going to do it. No left turns makes confusion, a lot of accidents. It’s just become very undesirable.”
The street has also seen an increase in accidents, near misses and some serious collisions, Quadra said. Additionally deliveries to the businesses have become nearly impossible.
“You have these trucks to deliver for restaurants and other shops and if they pull over, they’re basically blocking traffic,” Quadra said. “It’s a complete mess that was created.”
‘Lack of communication’ inspires hunger strike
Even more frustrating and dangerous than the lane itself is the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s lack to communicate, Eltawil said, adding that he’s tried talking to people in person at the office and at City Hall.
“They refuse to communicate,” he said. “Every time you send an email, they’ll send you a generic answer every single time with no forward.”
Small business consultant Kevin Ortiz, who represents Eltawil’s restaurant, also accused the agency of taking six to seven months to provide businesses with basic permits for things like outdoor seating or clothing racks, which he said is “unacceptable.”
Eltawil said other business owners choose not to speak up due to fear of retaliation so decided he’s going to raise awareness through his outdoor protest.
“All I want to do is my hunger strike and duty and try to let people know what’s going on,” he said.
Agency says they are working on solutions
The Municipal Transportation Agency said officials have spoken to stakeholders on Valencia and will use their feedback to inform the design of the bike lane.
“Our outreach and collaboration will continue through the spring, as we work on solutions that best protect both businesses and bicyclists on the corridor,” the agency said in a statement to USA TODAY.
MTA did not respond to USA TODAY’s questions about Eltawil’s and Quadra’s claims.
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San Francisco, CA
Artwork quilt unveiled at San Francisco dirt alley that was mistakenly bought at auction
In the fall of 2025, CBS News Bay Area first brought you the story of a Sunset couple that had the winning bid for a piece of property next to their home. They thought they were getting the duplex next door. Instead, they got a small patch of land known as Dirt Alley.
This story has many chapters, but it ended with a community celebration.
The final chapter in the story of Dirt Alley was written Wednesday night as they unveiled the tiles of artwork on the pavement.
“I’m very happy today,” JJ Hollingsworth said. “It’s just amazing that these artists that I’ve been working with and sold the alley to have come through with this incredible art.”
JJ Hollingsworth was the original property owner. She took out $25,000 from her retirement to pay for this parcel in a city auction. She thought she got a bargain for the duplex next door. When she found out it was actually the alley, the stress led to health problems and a lot of anxiety.
“I’m trying to forget, but I caused all this,” she said. “That’s what happened. I caused all this.”
Then came an email that would help her get out of the Dirt Alley nightmare. A group of friends from San Francisco was interested in buying this 82-foot-long alley.
“I know she was really stressed out when she first bought this and kind of didn’t know what she was going to do with it,” Theo Bleier said. “It’s really lucky. We were going to buy a different parcel, and we lost the auction. It was more than we wanted to spend. We felt really lucky the coincidence worked out, and we were able to help out JJ.”
The new owners then had the idea of laying an artwork quilt on the pavement and took submissions online.
“I think we had about one million people visit the website at least,” owner Patrick Hultquist said. “1.2 million, I think is the number of people that visited the website.”
The tiles with the most votes made it onto what is now called Notion way.
“Now, it’s not an official name of the street. It’s an unofficial name, but we did get an official-looking sign,” he said.
JJ Hollingsworth, who is a music composer, wrote a ballad called Notion Way for the special occasion. What started as a horrible mistake ended up bringing the community together.
“It’s really beautiful,” neighbors Tom Goslinga & Nesha Niezrecki said. “It’s how culture gets created in a lot of ways. People kind of being creative with an interesting situation. It’s really cool.”
While Hollingsworth is grateful for how this story ended, she says she learned a valuable lesson from this whole experience.
“Read the fine print and ask a lot of questions,” she said.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A driver in a car riddled with bullets fled a Marin County Sheriff’s Office deputy at high speeds over the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco early Tuesday morning, according to authorities. The suspect, identified as Martin Zuniga Jr., 26, was later located in Novato and arrested.
The deputy first observed the suspect driving at approximately 100 mph on Highway 101 near the Richardson Bay Bridge. After pulling over the car, the deputy “noticed approximately 14 fresh bullet holes in the vehicle,” the sheriff’s office wrote. Zuniga allegedly told the deputy that he had just been involved in a road rage incident near Novato, but he refused to get out of the car and give a statement.
Zuniga “abruptly put the car into drive and fled the scene,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
The pursuit led to the Golden Gate Bridge, where the deputy disengaged due to unsafe speeds across the span, according to authorities. The car was later found abandoned on the streets of San Francisco.
At approximately 6 p.m., detectives located Zuniga in downtown Novato and placed him into custody. The sheriff’s office said at the time of the arrest that he was in possession of a loaded .40-caliber pistol with a high-capacity magazine and suspected cocaine.
Zuniga was booked into the Marin County Jail for:
- Reckless evading
- Violently resisting law enforcement
- Felon in possession of a firearm
- Felon in possession of ammunition
- Addict in possession of a firearm
Anyone with information regarding a shooting or road rage incident in the evening or early morning hours of June 15 and June 16 is asked to contact the Marin County Sheriff’s Office at 415-479-2311.
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